EPA and Army Corps of Engineers Release Proposed Rule on the Scope of Waters Covered Under the Clean Water Act

On March 25, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers jointly released a proposed rule defining waters that fall under the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act as "waters of the United States."  The wide sweep of the coverage afforded by the proposed rule, if finalized, would represent a significant expansion of federal jurisdiction.  Once the proposed rule is published in the Federal Register, the agencies will accept public comments on the proposed rule for 90 days.  For more information, see our Update prepared by Paul B. Smyth, Marc R. Bruner and Edgar (Ned) B. Washburn.